Saabtech Inc

Have been going to these guys for nearly 10 years now.
Love the no-​nonsense approach: they can always fit me in, check in takes about 5 minutes, by the end of the day I have my car. There’s no fluff here, no frills: they just get the job done.
I have popped in here and they’ve refilled my wiper fluid for free. They’ve checked out stuff on my vehicle for me at no cost. I often walk away paying much less than I expected to pay. This coming from someone who just dreads any sort of service work because I feel I’ll be taken advantage of.
I have had only positive experiences with Saabtech and recommend them highly.

Dear Saabtech, lose the attitude and the long winded bull****.
My girlfriend brought my 2004 Saab 9 – 3 here because It had a misfire under moderate to heavy boost which was causing fuel cutting and a flashing CEL. The issue (which I later resolved on my OWN) was a bad ignition coil which I easily replaced along with the other 3 just in case.
The owner himself received the vehicle, spent maybe 5 minutes (mis) diagnosing the problem as bad spark plugs, and another 25 minutes ego tripping over himself.
I understand how the spark plugs could have easily been the problem, and caused the same symptoms, but no additional diagnostics were done or effort made to comprehensively asses the problem.
I paid for a $ 200 diagnostic which, at ANY hourly rate should have earned me at least a half hearted effort to research my issue.
Ultimately They threw in new plugs, bleated about their excellent diagnostic skills, and sent me on my way after a $ 200 diagnostic fee plus $ 40 for the plugs.
Fine, it would have been somewhat justifiable If they were right about the issue, but they weren’t.
Fyi OEM ignition coils can be had for $ 120 from Napa. Don’t waste your time with these morons. Maybe the rest of the employees are okay, but the owner is an egomaniac with no customer service ability… whatever…
Just another Saab Story.

Oh man, I had listened to the other people, too. When I first moved to the city, this place was close, so I started taking my Saab there. After a few repairs, I was tired of their horrible hours (impossible to get your car serviced if you have a normal 9 – 5 job), rude service, gross overpricing, complete disregard for what I asked them to do (once I was having trouble with a light, and it still didn’t work after I replaced the bulb, so when I took it in I said «don’t replace the bulb, it’s new.» They still replaced the bulb AND charged me for it.) and «oh, your blah blah blah is broke, too» and started to go elsewhere. I haven’t thought about this place in a couple of years until today, when I found out that the brakes on my car are totally shot. Interestingly, Saab Tech replaced them all 15,000 miles ago. Fifteen. Thousand. Miles. The mechanic who told me has been working on my family’s cars for 20 years, so I trust him when he says they are messed up. I don’t know what kind of work they were doing, but they are doing something wrong. I’m wondering now if they just took my couple thousand dollars and didn’t actually fix anything. So glad I’ve found other places to go, though I’m sure this place will haunt me until I eventually get a new car.

So, it hasn’t been a year since my last update– but I have managed to spend a good $ 4,000+ on my car since I started going to Saab Tech. I’d like to write an update because still, these guys are the best, no questions asked.
I took my car in most recently for an oil change and was told I should get my brakes done soon– and not even a week later, noise and grinding. I got a complete brake job done that, while not the cheapest ever, was done right and when I came back I was informed that my front rotors were replaced as well (I’d said go ahead and if it looks 75% or less, change them, as I didn’t want to come back and do it in a few months). The guy gave me a deal and acknowledged how much I’ve spent on my car there recently. Bottom line, these people give a crap about your car, your service and getting everything they can for you out of your aging Saab. Saab Tech is still the best, hands down.

This place deserves –100 stars. I REALLY WISH I HAD LISTENED TO ALL THE NEGATIVE REVIEWS before I spent a small fortune here. One problem after another, I am not going to pretend I know a lot about Saab’s but when these guys told me that I should just sell my car to them for $ 500 (AFTER THEY REPAIRED IT@#!) I knew this was bullsh^t.
— They would fix one thing, 2 days later the car stopped working. They fixed that a week later the car stopped working. This went on for a year my car never worked properly. I ended up getting rid of it, and wasting thousands of dollars here. They are Saab Robbers not specialists. They had to have either known my car was beyond repair and still told me they could fix it, OR, they don’t don’t know what they are doing. Either way, Steer clear of this place!!!

Not much option for Saab specialists these days so to still have one in the city is great. But they know their stuff there. I’ve had nothing but Saab my adult life and I’ve been coming here for years off and since since living in the burbs. The dude that works there is sitting behind the counter chain smoking his cigs which is somewhat refreshing because no one does anymore so it reminds me of my old high school days when smoking was more common. I love the fact he knows his crap. If ya got a Saab and need some service it’s a good place. Really fair pricing

Kevin, the owner, is totally rude. He’ll sit at the register and blow smoke in your face while either talking your ear off about something you don’t care about, or treat you like your business is an inconvenience. Mark and Jose are great. If only Kevin weren’t in the equation, this would be a much better place.

I went in to get an extra remote for my 2005 9 – 3 and the owner (at least I think that was the owner) was great. The price was cheaper than other places I called and they programmed the remote so fast! It didn’t take longer than 20 minutes, and I spent that time in their little lounge area looking out at all the cool vintage Saabs there.
I’ll be going there again if necessary.

This place is a scam. I recently moved to Chicago and had them work on my c900 a few times. Every time my car has left their shop something new is wrong with it. Also, their «fixes» have all been temporary and the issues have come back within a few weeks of leaving their garage. Avoid this place at all costs. You will get ripped off.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m no mechanic, which — to some extent — ensures that I’m always at the mercy of a shop not to yank my chain. I took my (newly-​acquired) 2002 9 – 3 in with a «check engine» light, suspiciously low water temperature and some concerns about my suspension and clutch. Being a first-​time SAAB owner, I expected to pay out the nose. Instead, I got a new thermostat and an (unrelated) oil change for less than $ 250. Everybody I had contact with at Saabtech was polite, to the point and clearly actually liked SAABs. Mark correctly guessed what the problem was before even looking at the car, which speaks volumes about the value of working with a shop that specializes in your make. They called with an estimate. They did the work in less than a day. They charged a fair price. That’s about all you can ask!

These guys seem knowledgable when they talk about the cars. But the three times I took my car here. It came back with even more issues. I hate to deal with the rude staff. I don’t recommend them at all.

Had my car here 3 times this past year and was pleased with the work. Recommend this place to all fellow Saab owners in Chicagoland.

These guys took really good care of my car. Fixed the issue and recommended some things I should look into in the near future without putting any undue pressure on me. The owner, Dan, showed of his pretty impressive collection of cars. Envious.
I can see how the other reviews accuse him of being rude and abrasive, but I think he is just straight to the point and is very knowledgeable about SAABs and not afraid to let you know. When you are passionate about something it shows. Give them a chance, you wont be sorry.

Awful, awful, awful. Do yourself a favor and don’t even waste your time thinking about dropping your vehicle off at this place. Your car will sit around for days and you’ll have to keep following up to figure out what’s going on and to see when everything is done. Not that customer service should matter if the work done is satisfactory, but these guys really could care less about your vehicle and it clearly shows.

I own a 1992 SAAB 900s Turbo. Mark, Kevin, José and the crew at Saabtech have helped maintain near factory-​fresh shape for this car for over 10 years. From bodywork to head gasket replacement down to the annoying missing OEM clips for the air filter clamps they have consistently delivered top-​notch work on jobs large and small. Since my car is 20+ years old and still a daily driver I depend upon the right parts and the right work — both of which Saabtech has delivered over and over. As a self-​described OCD clean-​car fanatic I most likely represent an even more potentially annoying customer than any of the other customers who have commented here. Much of the work done on the car has been done twice now due to the age and pristine condition — and my personal bar is very high. It is with a bit of disappointment I read some of the comments regarding service.
So let me offer a bit of an opinion — and perhaps some advice. Y’all own Saabs, right? You bought into some sort of quirky brand that makes up a very small percentage of total sales in the U.S. Think parts are hard to find for your car? Try mine. Those of us who have owned these cars have watched them go from Swedish manufacturing to US ownership to Spyker to bankrupt to China and who knows where next. You have two choices — take your car to a dealership or to an independent. If you have an old car — or your warranty is up you most likely do what most of us do and avoid the dealerships.
So here is the advice part — give Saabtech a chance. They fix friggin’ cars. I doubt they were in your professional development workshop at work last week — or in sales training — or hanging out at Kellogg brown nosing the profs. Nope. They were most likely fixing my head gasket or trying to track down some stupid part for somebody like me. So make an effort to understand how they work — they do call with estimates — they do try to set expectations — and usually that changes when they examine a problem. Sometimes it is great news — sometimes it is worse than you thought. I can’t make excuses for any of the posts here that reference rudeness — but in the many years I have gone there I have not experienced it. I have seen busy mechanics, tricky diagnostic issues and a small business that focuses on one thing — fixing cars. If it comes with a bit of honesty — I never took it as rude.
Lastly, you are a SAAB owner. Your best defense in SAAB vehicle ownership or maintenance situation are two things:
1. Get to know your car.
You bought a challenged brand in doing so may want to make sure you research things or perhaps have a manual (or a wrench). Read it. Skim it. Get it out of your trunk and dust it off. It may save you some money.
2. Do some preventative maintenance.
SAABs have lots of repetitive and notorious problems — most of which a google search can turn up in seconds. There are lots of enthusiast sites and quick scans for VINs that are informative. I know — you thought you were getting some maintenance free clinical relationship like a BMW… you didn’t. You own a SAAB. You most likely didn’t quite realize you bought a GM with a different nameplate on it. So really, I’d rather have a guy stressing about what is on his rack than worrying about how I feel — and that has been my experience with everyone at Saabtech. They have stood by all of the work — and yup, even replaced or revisited something that was not quite right and made good by all of it.
If you want perfection in engineering and performance with the service to go along with it — get a Porsche — but make sure you have the income to support it. (and the ego to buy it) I find a wrench, a manual and some damn good mechanics a little more fun — and a lot cheaper — and although not quite as fast and flashy as a 911 — the 900 suits me just fine. Thanks for the great work Saabtech!

Consistently good service work on my Saab. They’ll tell me everything that’s wrong with it, will suggest ways to keep costs down, and don’t sugarcoat anything. That is worth a lot to me. Ultimately, I trust these guys to get the job done (and unless there’s a part on order, they typically do it quickly). From what I have experienced and observed, they work hard and have a lot of integrity.
I agree with some of the comments that the staff here is not going to give you that warm and fuzzy feeling — but if you keep in perspective that they’re all a bunch of mechanics (no dedicated front desk staff) that specialize in your Saab more than personality, it’s harder to be let down that they don’t really go out of their way to make you feel great about choosing them. They care about your car more than they care about you — and I can accept that.
Would be nice if this place was near an El, since the shuttle service is a myth and you typically leave without your car when you drop it off — but on the whole, the service they’ve given has actually prevented me from having to come back too often, so I’m not going to complain too much about the convenience factor.
I’d give them a B overall and they’ll have my business as long as I’m in Chicago — they’re the only good local shop around.

One more time, I must sing their praises. After 120,000 miles, Blue Velvet, my ’99 Saab was hurting. I thought she was done. Kevin, the Saab whisperer, brought her back to life. I felt that he was very transparent and went out of his way to explain everything. He even dealt expertly with my cheap and vocal husband.
I cannot imagine taking my car anywhere else.

So I actually stumbled upon this place when looking for somewhere to change my ’03 SAAB’s oil and boy were they helpful. The owner knows SAAB’s inside and out! He was super kind and very knowledgeable. I also was able to replace my trunk sticker emblem for VERY cheap. I think I only paid $ 10 where I saw them online for about $ 30 or so. The oil change was also significantly cheaper than I would pay anywhere else. I had been going to Jiffy Lube (European cars nightmare), and paid about $ 89.00, where as I am pretty sure I only paid about $ 50 at SAABtech.
My only complaint is that the owner was a guilt tripper. He reminded me of the mechanic from Seinfeld that stole Jerry’s SAAB after noticing the lack of extreme care.
Yes, I know my hub cabs were scrapped up. Yes, I know maybe I need to pay more attention to the fuel injectors — whatever those are. But honestly, I prefer when a mechanic just does what I came in for and maybe pin points a few things that may need attention instead of an enormous guilt trip.
Over all, come here for the reasonably priced oil changes and definitely buy all your SAAB accessories here!

If you have a Saab, you need to bring it to Saab tech.
I think most women share my paranoia and lack of trust towards mechanics.
First of all, let me just say that while I am no mechanic, after owning a string of crappy cars I feel like a know a thing or two about how they work. Mostly because everything that can possibly go wrong on a car has happened to one of mine at some point. Still, the opportunity to be ripped off is great.
I have been getting regular oil changes at Saabtech, because not only do I personally believe that it takes a specialist to work on these cars (and not just a regular European car specialist), but did you know an oil change at Saabtech is the same price it is at a quick-​oil place? Why would you go to McDonald’s if a steakhouse is the same price?
Last time I came in for my regular oil change my 9 – 5 was making a noise I wanted them to check out. I was well prepared to pay through the nose for whatever was obviously wrong with my car. When Saabtech checked it out they said it was only making that noise because the oil was low, and they checked for an oil leak, which there was none. They could have easily made up some imaginary reason for the noise, or told me I was leaking oil, and I wouldn’t have known any better. But they didn’t! They explained to me that sometimes the turbo on these cars «eats» the oil, and that was that. They have earned my trust.
I am taking my car in there this weekend to have the front brakes done. The quote they gave me was very reasonable, I suspect also just about the same price meineke or car ex would charge.

I like a business that continually tries to improve their service.
Because of Kevin’s business comment, we might give Saabtech another try.
Now, let’s hope Saab, the company, gets bought and Saabs keep getting made!

If you have a Saab this is probably your best option unless you take it to perillo and pay twice as much (at least that’s what my fiancé tells me… I myself know nada when it comes to cars). That being said I wasn’t overly impressed and have to say that the other Unilocalers are right on with their reviews:
1) The staff was rude
2) The owner provided way too much information on every little detail including how he loses money by us using our credit card
3) Not in a convenient location– it’s not near an el and took me so long to find a cab after dropping the car off here. Thank goodness it was a nice day outside so I didn’t mind the walk…
But will we go back the next time the Saab has a problem? Probably… because unlike Stephen S we are too lazy to take the car all the way to Skokie.